Why would they see a need for a vehicle with implicitly compromised performance? To put it simply, they see a demand from the general aviation community for this type of vehicle. In 2002, Troy Downen and Professor R. John Hansman of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics published “User Survey of Barriers to the Utility of General Aviation.” In their paper they identified four primary barriers: • Weather • Expense • Mobility at destination • Doorstep to destination travel time Expanding the general aviation market will be enabled by vehicles or systems that mitigate the impact of these barriers. Building a vehicle with just improved performance (faster and perhaps marginally more efficient) than existing GA aircraft certainly attacks the travel time barrier — and this has been the normal progression of GA to date. The market for single engine piston aircraft has fluctuated tremendously over the years, but advances in performance have not fundamentally expanded the market for new GA single engine planes. According to pilots — the primary GA users — improved performance does little to reduce the first three barriers to the more widespread use of general aviation. The introduction of a practical roadable aircraft could directly reduce the effects of all four barriers (this is axiomatic — if it is practical, it will, by definition, address these barriers). An integrated roadable aircraft clearly improves a pilot’s mobility at their destination — eliminating
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AERO-ASTRO 2005-2006